Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation of Fishing Communities and Fisheries- based Livelihoods, 18-19 January 2006, Chennai, India Item Type book Publisher International Collective in Support of Fishworkers Download date 29/09/2021 11:32:10 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/18236 Proceedings Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods 18 and 19 January 2006 Chennai, India International Collective in Support of ishworkers (ICS) 27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, India www.icsf.net Regional Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods 18 and 19 January 2006, Chennai, India Proceedings March 2006 Layout by P. Sivasakthivel (Jaisakthi Computers) Printed and bound at Nagaraj and Company Pvt. Ltd., Chennai Published by International Collective in Support of )ishworkers 27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, India Tel: +91 44 2827 5303 )ax: +91 44 2825 4457 Email: [email protected] http://www.icsf.net Copyright © ICS) 2006 ISBN 81 902957 0 5 While ICS) reserves all rights for this publication, any portion of it may be freely copied and distributed, provided appropriate credit is given. Any commercial use of this material is prohibited without prior permission. ICS) would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. The opinions and positions expressed in this publication are those of the authors concerned and do not necessarily represent the official views of ICS). Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................... 1 Proceedings .................................................................................................................. 2 Country Reports Indonesia ............................................................................................................. 27 Sri Lanka ............................................................................................................. 65 Thailand............................................................................................................. 101 India .................................................................................................................... 159 India Special Study ..................................................................................... 211 Recommendations .................................................................................................... 245 Appendix 1: Workshop Programme ......................................................................... 248 Appendix 2: NGO Meeting Programme................................................................. 250 Appendix 3: NGO Meeting Report .......................................................................... 251 Appendix 4: ield Trip Programme......................................................................... 259 Appendix 5: List of Participants .............................................................................. 260 Preface ishing communities, occupying the very margins of the land mass as it were, were among the worst affected in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. Apart from significant losses of life and injury, fishing communities reported loss of houses, craft, gear, equipment and other means of livelihoods. The period since then has seen considerable mobilization of aid towards relief and rehabilitation of all affected communities. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the interventions that have taken place to rehabilitate the fisheries sector and communities dependent on fisheries and to identify the issues and challenges emerging, ICS commissioned studies in four countries, namely, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, in October 2005. A particular area of interest was to understand the role, if any, that had been played by traditional institutions in fishing communities in mediating tsunami relief and rehabilitation, with a view to assessing the potential role of these institutions in longer-term rehabilitation and resource management. These studies were presented at the Regional Workshop on Post- tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods, held in Chennai, India on 18 and 19 January 2006, with the participation of fishworker organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, policymakers and representatives of multilateral agencies, from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Maldives. A one-day NGO meeting was held prior to this, on 17 January, to enable organizations working with fishing communities in tsunami rehabilitation to share experiences and learn from one another. The meeting was also meant to identify some of the key issues/challenges emerging for longer-term rehabilitation, drawing on the country-level studies, and to put forth recommendations on basic issues that need to be addressed by ongoing rehabilitation interventions. These recommendations were presented to the workshop on 19 January 2006, and have since been widely circulated. This publication, which contains the proceedings of the workshop, the reports of the country studies, and the recommendations made at the workshop, will be useful to those engaged in the post- tsunami rehabilitation of fishing communities. It is hoped that it will also influence the course of rehabilitation in ways that benefit small- scale fishing communities and help improve their livelihoods in the long term. 1 Proceedings Proceedings INTRODUCTION Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Maldives. It was Background and Rationale aimed to: The tsunami that struck countries in the Indian Ocean - analyze the status of rehabilitation efforts in the region on 26 December 2004 caused severe damage fisheries sector and fishing communities; and to life and livelihood. The impact on fishing - identify issues that need to be addressed in communities in affected countries was particularly ongoing rehabilitation projects vis-à-vis the severe. Apart from loss of life and injury, many fisheries sector for sustaining livelihoods in the households dependent on fisheries lost their houses, longer term. craft, gear, equipment and other means of livelihoods. A one-day meeting of fishworker organizations and Estimates indicated that damages to the fishing and NGOs working with fishing communities in tsunami- aquaculture industry were substantial, to the order of affected countries was held on 17 January, prior to US$568 mn in India, US$511 mn in Indonesia, the regional workshop. The meeting was meant to: US$335 mn in Sri Lanka, about US$139 mn in Thailand and about US$25 mn in Maldives. - provide an opportunity for participants from It is well known that while natural disasters make various countries to share experiences and learn no distinction, the ability to face them and recover from one another; and from them differs substantially, depending on the - enable participants to agree on basic issues that social, economic, environmental and political reality. need to be addressed by ongoing rehabilitation Clearly, the damage from the Indian Ocean tsunami interventions, some of which are likely to be was much greater than it should have been, because country-specific. of certain underlying realities facing fishing NGO Meeting communities along the coast. The one-day NGO meeting was held at the YWCA If longer-term resilience to natural disasters has Conference Hall, Chennai. The programme for the to be increased, rehabilitation interventions would meeting can be found in Appendix 2 and a report on need to take into account, and address, issues requiring the meeting is in Appendix 3. A total of 50 delegates interventions of a longer-term nature. participated in the meeting. The meeting enabled To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the organizations working with fishing communities to interventions that have taken place to rehabilitate the share experiences and to learn from one another. It fisheries sector and communities dependent on also took stock of rehabilitation interventions and fisheries and to identify the emerging issues/challenges, agreed on some basic issues that need to be addressed ICS commissioned studies in four countries, namely, by ongoing rehabilitation interventions, keeping in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, in October mind the fact that rehabilitation initiatives by NGOs, 2005. In addition to these four studies, ICS also multilateral agencies and governments are still commissioned a study in India on The Role of underway. These recommendations were presented Traditional Panchayats in Coastal ishing Communities to the workshop on 19 January 2006. in Tamil Nadu, with Special Reference to their Role in Mediating Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation. Regional Workshop These studies were presented at the Regional The regional workshop was organized at the IMAGE Workshop on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation of ishing Auditorium, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A total Communities and isheries-based Livelihoods held in Chennai, of 90 persons, primarily from the tsunami-affected India on 18 and 19 January 2006. The workshop countries of Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and provided a constructive space for dialogue between Thailand, participated in the workshop. They included fishworker organizations, NGOs, policymakers and representatives from fishworker organizations, NGOs representatives of multilateral agencies, from India, and multilateral organizations such as the ood and